Bauhaus · 1923

On White II

Wassily Kandinsky 1866–1944

On White II (1923) by Wassily Kandinsky. Its palette is led by silver (#dcdbd5, 69%) and golden umber (#857049, 9%), with accents of light orange, scarlet red, pale golden yellow, muted azure blue and light muted aqua. Overall the canvas is light, muted and warm.

Color note

Kandinsky tied colors to sounds and emotions: in Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1911) he likens yellow to a blaring trumpet and deep blue to a pull toward the spiritual. He later taught color and form at the Bauhaus.

Palette

#dcdbd5 MG 206 silver 69.1% of canvas
#857049 MG 183 golden umber 9.4% of canvas
#303336 MG 211 dark slate 8.1% of canvas
#c88430 MG 029 light orange 3.3% of canvas
#d55942 MG 017 scarlet red 2.8% of canvas
#e8ca49 MG 040 pale golden yellow 2.6% of canvas
#696a9a MG 096 muted azure blue 2.4% of canvas
#85a8b8 MG 080 light muted aqua 2.3% of canvas

Color families

White 66%, Gray 11%, Brown 10%, Yellow 5%, Red 3%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.78
Contrast: 0.55
Vividness: 0.026
Warmth: +0.83
Complexity: 184 cells
Hue range: 0.62
Focus: 0.26

Composition

52% of the visual weight is in the left half, 54% in the upper half. Symmetry 0.55 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 32% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 22% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1923
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 105.0 × 98.0 cm
Genre: abstract art
Collection: Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris

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